Saturday, November 30, 2013

Informed Choice Needs More Than a Website

President Obama recently said, “Buying health insurance is never going to be like buying a song on iTunes. You know, it’s just a much more complicated transaction.” Academic research bears this out: low-income patients who were given a choice of health insurance plans were less likely to sign up for any of them than were patients who only had one option. To quote Sabrina (from the movie of the same name), "Sometimes more isn't better, Linus. Sometimes it's just more."

Except that usually more is better--it just takes more time and effort to figure out the best choice. That's how insurance agents and brokers make their living. They can save the average consumer enough money picking the right plan to pay their own insurance--and mortgage, taxes, and children's tuition through college. Choice is better, but helping people choose is a full-time job.Healthcare sharing ministries ("healthshares") are a great healthcare choice for Christian families, but that doesn't mean that the average Christian family is ready to make that choice. This blog exists to learn how to connect people with questions to people with answers.